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sourdough donuts with cinnamon sugar in a longaberger basket with floral liner

Sourdough Donuts

Kyrie | Healthfully Rooted Home
These sourdough donuts are fluffy with a crunchy crust. They're made with no commercial yeast or fancy donut equipment.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Fermenting time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 8 donuts
Calories 164 kcal

Equipment

  • Cast iron skillet
  • Glass bowls

Ingredients
  

Sourdough donut dough

  • 2 cups flour all-purpose
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter
  • 2 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Frying

  • 6 tbs coconut oil

Cinnamon sugar coating

  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions
 

Sourdough donut dough

  • In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients and set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
  • Combine the dry and wet ingredients until combined (be sure not to overmix or these can become dense).
  • Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic and let the sourdough donut dough ferment on the counter for 2 hours then transfer to the fridge.
  • Leave the dough in the fridge overnight (or until you want to fry your donuts - minimum 4 hours).

Shaping sourdough donuts

  • Remove the dough from the fridge and lightly dust your counter with flour.
  • Remove your ball of dough from the bowl and flatten out onto the counter.
  • Divide your dough into equal pieces. This recipe makes 8-10 donuts depending on size.
  • Take a piece of your divided dough and roll it into a ball.
  • Then using your thumb to make a hole in the center and forefinger to guide and spin the donut, shape the dough into donuts.
  • Do this for each piece of dough.

Frying and coating sourdough donuts

  • Once all your donuts have been shaped, preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and combine cinnamon and sugar coating on a plate.
  • Set the cinnamon sugar plate and a clean plate next to your cast iron skillet. You'll want this nearby!
  • Add a liberal amount of coconut oil to your skillet. I call for about 6 tbs, but you want it to be about 1 inch deep.
  • Once the oil is completely preheated, place your donuts into the oil and watch them sizzle!
  • After about a minute, drop the heat to low and let them cook on that side until a crust has formed on the bottom. This should take about 3 minutes.
  • Flip your donuts and let cook on the other side until a crust has formed. This should take about 3-5 minutes.
  • Once the other side has cooked, do a quick flip again to add oil to the other side and place the dounuts in the cinnamon sugar. Flip the donuts around to coat all sides. Then transfer coated donuts to a clean plate.
  • Do this process for your next batch.
  • If your donuts are still gooey on the inside just place them in a 350 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes after coating with cinnamon sugar and they will be completely baked on the inside but crunchy on the outside.

Notes

sourdough donut storage instructions

  • Place the sourdough donuts in an airtight container and leave at room temperature for up to 3 days. The taste and texture quickly decline so eat up!

Freezing sourdough donuts

  • Your donuts can be frozen too, without the coating, for up to three months.
  • To defrost, simply remove the donuts from the freezer and leave at room temp for a couple hours. Or you can defrost by heating in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
  • To coat the sourdough donuts after they've been defrosted, dip them in melted butter or coconut oil then in your coating.

sourdough donut Tips

  • These donuts have a tendency to still be gooey in the middle if you don't have the temperature in your skillet just right. If this happens, just pop them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5-10 minutes.
  • The dough for these sourdough donuts is quite sticky so you won't want to skip the fridge ferment. This will make the dough easy to shape the next day.
  • Shaping donuts doesn't require fancy donut cutters, but if you have them, feel free to use them!
  • If cutting out the donuts instead of shaping them how I instruct, you'll want to let them rise for another hour after being cut so they can fluff up.
  • If shaping your donuts how I instruct (just using hands) you'll need floured hands because the dough is sticky. Only use as much flour as necessary or your donuts may turn too dense.

Sourdough donut Serving Suggestions

  • Party appetizer - These sourdough donuts are great as an appetizer to bring to a party. Just use this same recipe to make mini donuts!
  • Breakfast - Serve your sourdough donuts for breakfast with a side of eggs and bacon. Or with a smoothie!
  • Dessert - Serve your donuts as dessert with some ice cream.
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